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Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan of the Tavush Diocese, the leader of a civil disobedience movement against the Armenian government’s unilateral territorial concessions to Azerbaijan, expressed his gratitude to reporters for a fair coverage of protests in and outside Yerevan.

“Journalists have truly stayed on top of their game,” he said after visiting the Union of Journalists of Armenia (UJA) on Tuesday.

The senior cleric highlighted that his movement focused on a “struggle between the truth and lies”.

"The media should always tell the truth, just like how prophets and apostles once went around to spread God’s true word," the archbishop said. "Today, unfortunately, it is possible to twist the truth and to present something completely different."

"This is a struggle against enmity and for reconciliation. I don't understand why they oppose it. They oppose reconciliation in society so that the truth does not prevail, people do not pass the path of self-purification and do not restore their honor and dignity," the cleric noted.

He stated the Armenian authorities could no longer deceive the public and had started to deceive themselves.

"Journalists are preachers of truth and no matter how difficult it may be, you have not deviated from this path and will not deviate, for which we express our gratitude," the archbishop said.

UJA President Satik Seyranyan, in turn, criticized the international community’s silence over police brutality against reporters covering demonstrations in the country.